Bankz is the Santa Claus of the hood in Memphis and his ruthless reputation precedes him. Trapping isn’t the only thing he’s caught doing this holiday season and his girlfriend Taylor soon finds out. Although Bankz is proud of how his strategic drug organization serves major weight, and the power he’s snatched over the years, he can’t escape his fate. He is surrounded by people he thought he could trust, and someone is testing his street cred. Bankz can’t and won’t allow this to happen. Taylor Shaw is the loving girlfriend of Bankz. Her man has been there for her through it all, but the closer it gets to Christmas the more she begins to realizes it’s NOT the most wonderful time of the year. Taylor has never been one to make decisions based off of street gossip, but she discovers the streets know more about the man she loves than she does. Taylor wants to forget about everything and have some fun before Christmas, but fun takes a tragic turn and her life will be changed forever. Can the holidays be filled with love, laughter and fond memories for Bankz and Taylor, or will they inevitably have a Christmas In The Trap: Memphis Style? A Christmas that has no peace and joy but conflict and misery? Hit these Memphis streets to find out in this African American Urban Fiction Tale.

    No mother. No father. No siblings. Remo was destined for failure from the very beginning. In spite of, he was determined to beat the odds. Just as things begin to look up for him, an accident sends him crashing into The Plug; The man with more jewels than kings and more money than corporate America. One simple mistake puts him in a position that he never thought was possible. Will he succumb to the demands of the streets? Or will he stand in his own greatness? Mahlia is young, hard working, beautiful, and ready for love. She has her cousin Amelia by her side and they are more like sisters so Mahlia has no problem confiding in her ride or die. When jealousy rears its ugly head, the cousins are faced with drama out of this world. Will the bond that Mahlia shares with Amelia stand in the way of love? Or will true love win? They say Christmas is the season for magic, so come take this crazy ride in The Magic City as K. Larry brings nonstop drama, love, deceit, and betrayal in this sultry African American Urban Fiction Novella.

    Street King. Strong. Respected. Intelligent. Accurately describes Hassan, specifically known as Lil Hot or Hot, but now, a new title is being added to the list that takes his life on a whirl spin. Hot is thrown into fatherhood when one of his jump-offs abandons her baby with him, claiming it’s his. Not only unprepared for a baby, Hot finds himself in another foreign territory that he had no intentions of going down—love. Plus, street life in Atlanta starts wreaking havoc as he deals with personal struggles. Will Hot survive the streets long enough to embrace a baby and love? Find out if Hassan’s best Christmas gifts are the ones he didn’t know he wanted in this sultry African American Urban Fiction novella, Christmas In The Trap: Atlanta Style.

    He insists in sending Mark off in style...in the company of a hooker. It's supposed to be the last hoorah of a single man before being condemned to a life of marriage, but that all changes when the hooker scams them. Mark's world unravels and a dark side he never knew he possessed spills out.The REPREHENSIBLE ACTS series feature stories without heroes or happy endings in some cases. These stories feature characters that lose their way and may never find their way back. You can't condone their actions, but perhaps you can have sympathy for their damaged souls. You might find these stories unpalatable, but then again, you're meant to. Don't judge. No one is immune to committing a reprehensible act.

    It is not meaning that the individual searches for in their life, but at the ground level, what the person is seeking is hope, life-lessons, the truth and a dash of motivation every now and then. All this search makes one feel a sense of fulfilment in their life. Learning is a part of life and man’s quest for life-lessons will never cease until death. Presenting you a collection of short stories, which is an attempt to make you see life and its subtle messages through a different lens.

    A retired public school teacher, Miss Budge embarks on a series of slice-of-life adventures that take readers into the intriguing and authentic lives of Southern church women. "What our readers love about Miss Budge is that they all know her personally. In fact, they all are her in one way or another. Daphne's stories are instantly recognizable to those in a church community, and that's where the real humour and real pathos comes from. Daphne is a keen observer of the strange and wonderful subculture of 'the church lady.'" Brett Alan Dewing The Christian Courier (Canada) "Mildred Budge is a forthright, almost larger than life, woman who challenges every reader's faith walk by being transparent about her own. She reminds us that Jesus loves us the way we are but He loves us too much to leave us as we are." Julie Innes Evangel

    You'll discover original profiles of inspiring people, real-life dramas, insightful essays, and news roundups that get you up-to-date fast on the issues you care about. All the features and departments from the print edition are here, including the jokes and funny true stories, along with our famous Word Power column-now with automatic scoring and audio pronunciations. Each issue is enhanced with exclusive cartoons, videos, slide shows, animations, and useful Web links-all in a well-designed, easy-to-navigate interface.

    He was already a TV sensation as the benign extraterrestrial Mork from Ork on Mork & Mindy and had starred as a comic-strip sailor in Popeye. But that Tonight Show stint revealed the distilled form of Williams' unique genius in stand-up comedy and his visits with Carson, Dick Cavett, David Letterman, Jay Leno and the other late-night lions. This TIME Spotlight Story explores The Heart of Comedy, Mr, Robin Williams.

    

    Full of memorable characters and masterfully composed narrative, these short stories constitute a wonderful addition to any personal library, and are not to be missed by discerning collectors of Runyon's work. The stories contained herein include: Beach of Promise, Romance in the Roaring Forties, Dream Street Rose, The Old Doll's House, Blood Pressure, The Bloodhounds of Broadway, Tobias the Terrible, The Snatching of Bookie Bob, The Lily of St. Pierre, Earthquake, and more. Alfred Damon Runyon (1880 1946) was an American newspaperman and author, best remembered for his short stories about the world of Broadway in New York City that resulted from the Prohibition era. This volume is being republished now in an affordable, modern edition complete with a specially commissioned new biography of the author."

    Ready to conquer the world, Celeste had dreams of long and exciting hospital nights while completing her residency to become a pediatrician—but one call changes it all. Hearing that her father has died in a car crash, has forced Ce-Ce to move back home in the small town of Ennis, Texas—the one place she so desperately had hoped to escape. Now having to run her family’s practice CeCe has lost all hope for the dream life she worked so hard to create for herself—that is until she runs into the bad boy Duran Mitchell. Duran isn't anything what CeCe ever thought for herself, but opposites seem to always attract. Duran and CeCe quickly fall in love, breaking down any obstacle that got in their way. Their story isn’t perfect, but it is for them and no one else. Its the Story of Us—Duran and CeCe

    

    Caitlin Bridges is a young woman looking for love. She has never understood why her parents hate her so much but when she discovers that her life is connected to Glyn's in an unexpected way nothing can prepare her for the shocking revelations that follow.

    Easy reading and enjoyable.." - John P Sam's trousers were round his ankles. The microwaved chicken - long past its sell-by date - had made a hasty exit. He was down a ditch in the middle of nowhere, and there weren't any tissues. Suzy had dumped him. Things weren't going well. He was only one wipe away from his life changing forever when he found a blue IKEA bag packed with banknotes. Gary wants to kill him. So does Vlad. Ashton wants to paint him naked and then there's the Contessa. Suzy isn't certain they've broken up. One thing’s for sure: Sam's life has been turned upside down.

    After more than thirty years of being asked the same question—"Why don't you give us some good news for a change?"—veteran television news anchor Bruce Lindsay obliges us with humorous and heartwarming stories from the idyllic town that we believe we grew up in—or wished we did. Inspired from the stories found in real small-town newspapers, Bruce Lindsay introduces us to the down-to-earth, foible-filled characters from Parley's Grove—folks who can make the mundane mesmerizing and the absurd endearing. Warm, poignant, and always hilarious, these affectionate vignettes of small-town life will help you remember who you are and where you're from.